Retaliation

Chapter 4

"Wake up." I hear, but it sounds distant. "Guys." It says a little bit louder. "Get up!" It yells, and I jump, opening my eyes to see it's morning, and we are in the woods.. My memories come flooding back to me, and I look to my side to find Alex in the same state as I am. Melody looks a little tired, and I realize she must have been up all night last night. "We should get moving. There's a highway rest stop up ahead." melody says, gathering her things and packing them into her messenger bag. She stood up, slung it around her shoulder, and held her hand out to me. I took it and she helped pull me up, then helped Alex. I dusted off my jumpsuit, and said, "We should probably get some new clothes. We look like we just broke out of a government facility." "There's a reason for that." Alex retorted with a small chuckle. Melody nodded her head, and continued walking. After about a half an hour of treading through the forest, we reached a parking lot behind small mall. "Ok. You two stay put while I go in and get you two clothes. Then we can go grab something to eat." "Do you have any money? How will you get the clothes?" Alex questioned Melody, and a smirk grew on her face. "ATM." She said, and I was about to question, but then I remembered her ability to manipulate machines. I laughed, and Melody went in to illegally buy some clothes. "Hey Alex, what do you think of Melody so far?" I whisper. "I don't know. She seems like we can trust her though." "I hope so.." I sighed, ignoring the memories of people who betrayed us in the past. The kind smiles, the lies, the friendships, would just cover their true intentions. Living alone was the only option for us, but its hard. People need other people to rely on, someone to pick them back up when they fall. Its sort of like we are all toddlers, struggling to take our first steps. If we fall, someone picks you up and steadies you so you can try again, hold your hand when you cant stay balanced... "GAH!" I jumped at a bag that was thrown at me, hitting me square in the face. What a great way to get someones attention. Why call their name or poke them when you can THROW A BAG AT THEIR FACE. Melody stifled a laugh, standing in front of us. Alex looked pissed, so I assumed she got the same treatment. "Check it. I tried to guess your style preference, and I think I did pretty well." Melody said proudly, gesturing to the bags. I opened mine and surprisingly, she wasn't joking. Pretty spot on. I had ripped skinny jeans, a light blue mid-sleeve shirt, and a black windbreaker with a white stripe on the cuffs and waistband, a pair of navy blue converse, and a necklace with a black rose pendant on it. It fit great, and looked pretty sweet. Alex revealed a black long sleeve shirt with a camo vest, dark camo jeans, a pair of black combat boots, and a dragon neclace. We changed from our dingy jumpsuits, peeling the caked fabric from our slender frames, and put on the new clean clothes. Melody led us to a public bathroom accessible from the back of the mall, and there we scrubbed the dirt off our faces, hair, and hands in the sink. When we were presentable, melody handed us two small earpieces. I hesitated for a moment before grabbing one and fitting it on to my ear. "These headsets WERE common bluetooth appliances, but i modded them, as per the norm, and made it so they all have an unbreakable link between the three, allowing us to communicate together under any circumstance. Say the code word 'funky town' and it immediately activates, giving us the emergency notification, only to be used when your life is in danger. For other occasions, simply saying 'activate' connects the three." Melody boasted triumphantly. "Sweet." Shrugged Alex, and Melody looked almost disappointed, not earning the praise she was expecting. She grumbled, and beckoned us to follow. We did, and soon enough we were blending in with the masse of people in the mall. We stopped in a fast food joint, and ordered enough to feed an army. We sat down with loaded trays at a booth in the back corner, and ate to our heart's content.